Re: USAGE: syllables

--- Tristan McLeay <zsau@...> wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Feb 2004, Elliott Lash wrote:
>
> > --- Nik Taylor <yonjuuni@...> wrote:
>
> > > No.  What I'm saying is that you could have a
> > > language with a rule that
> > > says "vowels followed by a nasal in the same
> > > syllable become nasalized",
> > > a common, but by no means universal, rule, or
> > > "vowels with a nasal in
> > > the same syllable become nasalized", but not
> "vowels
> > > preceded by a nasal
> > > become nasalized"
> > >
> >
> > Well...actually, there are languages in which a
> vowel
> > followed by a nasal consonant can become
> nasalized.
> > Take Sundanese:
> >
> >
>
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/appendix/languages/sundanaese/sundanese.html
>
> That doesn't contradict Nik. To get something like
> that, we don't need to
> get as exotic as Sudanese; my dialect of English
> pronounces 'now' as
> [n&~U\], but I nasalise (lowish) vowels before n,
> too.. Is a word like
> (hypothetical) 'talin' [talin] or [tali~n]?
Hm...it seems like it contradicts Nik. He said "vowels
preceded by nasals dont get nasalized" but, if I
follow the chart accurately, that's what they say is
happening in that language.  Also note, that they
state the rule quite nicely, down at the bottom, which
is in opposition to Nik's generalization.

"the language has a rule of nasal spreading whereby a
sequence of vowels .... become nasalized when
following a nasal consonant"

I may be tired and it may have been late when i wrote
my first message, but...I'm pretty sure it's
accuratae...

Elliott



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